4. Lloyd Erskine Sandiford
Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, KA, PC (born March 24, 1937) is a Barbadian politician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Barbados from 1987 to 1994. As of 2010, Sir Lloyd is serving as Barbados’ first resident ambassador in Beijing, China.
Sandiford was born in Barbados and educated at the Coleridge and Parry School, Harrison College and the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in English. He then studied at Britain’s University of Manchester, receiving his Master’s degree in economics and social studies. Sandiford returned to Barbados, where he joined the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).
In 1967, one year after independence, he was appointed to the Senate. Sandiford left the Senate to run in the 1971 election, in which he won a seat in the House of Assembly. The DLP, under Errol Barrow, formed the government; Sandiford served in many cabinet positions including as Minister of Education. The DLP lost the 1976 election to the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and formed the opposition.